About the Wisconsin Elections Commission

The Wisconsin Elections Commission is made up of six members. Four are appointed by the four legislative leaders and two are appointed by the Governor. The Commission staff is non-partisan. The Commission administers and enforces Wisconsin elections law.

History of Election Administration by Citizen Boards and Commissions

The State Elections Board was created in 1974, transferring administration of campaign finance and election laws from the Secretary of State to a partisanly-appointed Board and a nonpartisan staff.

The Legislature, in 2007 Wisconsin Act 1, merged the former State Elections Board and the State Ethics Board to create the Government Accountability Board, which began its work in January 2008. The G.A.B. was comprised of six nonpartisan former judges appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate. The staff was nonpartisan. Learn more about the history of the G.A.B. here.

In 2015, the Legislature passed 2015 Wisconsin Act 118, which eliminated the Government Accountability Board and replaced it on June 30, 2016 with the current Wisconsin Elections Commission to administer elections and the Wisconsin Ethics Commission to administer campaign finance, ethics and lobbying law. The staff remains nonpartisan.